An independent voice on choice sounds from the alternative/underground music scene in Ireland.
- Get latest news, reviews & releases at the main label website: [FREQUENCY].

Sunday, October 08, 2006

The Butterfly Explosion in Trinity Rooms

I've been going on about The Butterfly Explosion quite a bit this year, both here and over on tmc's Lostmusic, so it was a real pleasure to finally catch them live when they played Limerick's Trinity Rooms this weekend.

Well worth the wait, The Butterfly Explosion sounded every bit as good live as they do on their releases, seamlessly blending the blissfully haunting with more weighty dirges and shimmerings, and hearing songs performed well live always adds new dimensions, even to songs which have become quite familiar. For those less familiar, this is music blending Slowdive shogaze-esque textures into a more readily accessible experience, centered on indie-rock moods and strong vocals, but layered with melodies which can burst into weightier moments of sheer energy.

They went through the majority of their material in the set, and although leading off cautiously with an instrumental, they quickly found top form with an excellent delivery of 'Next Year', from their recently released Turn The Sky EP, an instantly lovable song with leanings more towards indie-rock than their generally more shoegaze sound, and which clearly won over the audience in attendance, many of which may not have been so familiar with The Butterfly Explosion before the gig. No doubt the highlight for many was their performance of Chemistry, a fine shoegaze song with pop sensibilities which has become something of a flagship song for The Butterfly Explosion, and into which they worked an interlude back to the 80's with a few moments of Simple Minds' Don't You Forget About Me. Oddly, the interlude fitted in very well, and it was clear that an appreciative audience had taken to The Butterfly Explosion. By those accounts the gig could certainly be considered as a win. The only disappointing aspect was the size of the audience in attendance, which was a touch short, and to which fingers could be pointed at Trinity Rooms for not arranging for a local band to support. However, this should not take from the positives. This was an excellent live performance by an excellent rising band. I have said it before, and I will reiterate it here, this is one of the finest bands to emanate from Ireland in many years.

The Butterfly Explosion play at this years Hard Working Class Heroes Festival in Dublin this Oct 15th, followed by a return to the UK on Oct 29th when they play Break In The City in Manchester, details of which can be found from their myspace. Their excellent Turn The Sky EP, which was credited as 'single of the week' recently in several press reviews can be purchased online at Road Records.